Wherever Brother Kline and his companion went they were recognized, whether personally known or not, as DUNKARD PREACHERS. No doubt the _sneer_ was sometimes thrust at them, and the lip curled with contempt by those whose stolid ignorance and stupid brains had locked the door against the inflow of good breeding and truth. But in the eyes of all honest, sincere-minded people their mission was one of mercy, truth and love; and they were loved and respected accordingly.
Near the close of the third day of travel, they pa.s.sed
HARPER"S FERRY.
Brother Kline"s experienced eye took in the whole scene at one view.
He says: "The scenery here is greatly surpa.s.sed by that of many places within the Allegheny ranges. It is not nearly equal to the South Branch Gap below Petersburg in Hardy County, Virginia; nor does it at all compare, in sublime grandeur, with the Rocks at the mouth of the Seneca, in Pendleton County, Virginia. It is tame in comparison with either of these places. But so goes the world. It is with places as with people. When one gets a name by being lauded high by some distinguished personage, as Thomas Jefferson, for example, he soon has the eyes and the ears of the world; whilst others, more worthy, perhaps, in all the elements of true greatness, are left unnoticed and unknown. This thought awakens my recollection of a stanza in Gray"s "Elegy." It touches tenderly and beautifully upon the neglect and lack of appreciation often experienced by real beauty, virtue and goodness.
Here is the verse:
""Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
"But we must tone our criticisms down to a just standard. The lack of fame with many justly meriting it is not their own fault, nor is it the fault of the world; but the trouble lies greatly in the place of their birth and in the surroundings of their lives. If the South Branch Gap had had its birth at Harper"s Ferry the summit of its fame would reach the clouds; whilst Harper"s Ferry, born among the rugged recesses of the Alleghenies, would never be thought of. The world is not so partial and full of favoritism as we think. It readily takes up what suits its uses and its tastes, without stopping to inquire whether there might not be something better found."
Crossing the Potomac at the Ferry, they go to Brother Letherman"s and spend the night.
FRIDAY, September 1. Love feast at Brother Herschman"s in Middle Valley. Luke 3 was read. Three persons were baptized. Next day the brethren go to Beaver Dam, and pa.s.s the night at John Garber"s.
At this time letter postage was very high, as much as twenty-five cents on some letters; and the transportation of mails very slow.
Regardless of this, however, by means of letters, Brother Kline knew just where to go and what to expect before starting on a journey.
Appointments for preaching, councils and love feasts fell in the line of his route from beginning to end. Have a little bit of patience, please, and let me quote the entries just as I find them in the Diary for this journey. If they do not interest you, they may interest others deeply, especially the children and the grandchildren of the good people named in them.
SUNDAY, September 3. Love feast at Beaver Dam. Luke 14 was read. Three persons were baptized.
MONDAY, 4. Visit Brother Deah"s and Saylor"s, and stay all night at Joseph Engle"s.
TUESDAY, 5. Meeting at Pipe Creek. Luke 16 was read. Stay all night at Peter Royer"s.
WEDNESDAY, 6. Meeting at Rupp"s. John 1 was read. Stay all night at Christian Royer"s.
THURSDAY, 7. Stay at Brother Keeney"s.
FRIDAY, 8. Love feast at Brother Keeney"s. John 18 was read.
SAt.u.r.dAY, 9. Visit Jacob Myers"s. Stay all night at David Brillhardt"s.
The families visited in the order of Brother Kline and Brother Flory"s route were as follows: Christian Longenacker"s, John Zug"s, Abraham Zug"s, Daniel Zug"s, Jacob Gipe"s, John Gipe"s, Abraham Harshey"s, Shoemaker"s, Brother Myers"s on the other side of the Susquehanna, Andrew Deardorf"s, David Pfoutz, Fogelsanger"s, John Stauffer"s, Brother Royer"s, Brother Holsinger"s, Welty"s, Fahrney"s, Joseph Emert"s, Eschleman"s, David Kinsey"s, Brother Martain"s, James Tabler"s; Carter"s, in Frederick County, Virginia, Jonas Goughnour"s, in Shenandoah County, Virginia; and home Tuesday, October 3.
Brother Flory and I did not separate for one day or night on this journey. He preached a good deal, and has, I think, left a very good impression. He related a little incident about a local preacher with whom he was personally acquainted, and which he stated for a fact, that has several times amused me. It came in at a suitable place in one of his discourses. The preacher had been regularly receiving one hundred dollars a year from his Conference, for stated preachings to several poor congregations not far from his home. The preacher owned a farm and a mill, both at the same time; and with the two combined he became independent. His brethren saw this and concluded that he ought _no longer be paid_ the hundred dollars a year; so the pay was withheld. But his preaching stopped as suddenly as his pay. When asked about the cause of this he pointed to his _mill wheel_ and said: "_Do you suppose that that wheel will run if you keep the water off?_"
The brethren and sisters generally appeared to be alive to their spiritual interests. The meetings were usually well attended, and good attention was paid to the preaching. In some places, however, worldliness in dress and manners is becoming too apparent.
In Maryland we happened to fall in company with a man traveling our course, who represented himself as a United Brethren preacher. He was very plainly dressed himself, and as we were plain I guess he thought that to give his conversation a turn upon the _fashions_ of the world would not be unpleasant to us. At any rate he went on to tell how pride was gradually creeping, inch by inch, into his own denomination; and, "worst of all," said he, "it looks like it is beginning to take hold of some of our preachers." He then stated that at their last yearly Conference, the bishop had scored some of them fearfully about it. He then repeated what the bishop had said on the occasion about the
ORIGIN OF FASHIONS.
"Some of you may be curious to know from what place the American people obtain their fashions. I will tell you. They get them from New York City. And from what place does New York City get them? From London. And from what place does London get them? From Paris. And from what place does Paris get them? I answer," said the bishop, "that Paris gets them from h.e.l.l through the devil and his agents."
In the journey from which I have just returned I preached _twenty_ times; attended _eight_ love feasts; visited and conversed with many families on religious topics. In all this service, if I know my own heart, I have been actuated by no selfish motives. As Paul said: I desire that my service may be acceptable to the saints; but to make it so, I have used no deceit, no flattery, and have put forth no effort of any kind save that of trying, by the grace of G.o.d, to make myself a faithful minister of Jesus Christ. As one called to preach the Gospel, this is my duty at all times. Conscious of this, I aim to be "instant in season, out of season." May G.o.d bless our labors, including those of the dear brother who was with me. "Paul may plant, and Apollos water; but G.o.d only can give the increase." We must, by his grace, use all means to keep the Brotherhood pure, by defending it against the inroads of worldliness and pride in every form. May G.o.d forgive all our sins. Amen!
SUNDAY, October 15. Brethren Martain Myers and Samuel Lehman were with us at our meeting to-day. They spoke beautifully on John 5:24.
_Resolutions Made by Elder John Kline,_
_Monday, January 1, 1838._
He says: I now resolve
To do all the good I can this year.
To shun all evil in thought, word, and deed as far as I can.
To learn all I can of wholesome truth.
To make the best use I can of what I learn and know. To do all this with an eye single to the glory of G.o.d and the good of mankind.
Could any one resolve better? Could an angel from heaven, if sent down to live with men on earth, resolve to a better purpose? But it is easier to resolve than to carry into effect; easier to think wisely than to _act_ wisely; easier to plan well than to execute. But of this one thing I am sure: If Brother Kline failed in any of the above resolutions, his failure was not chargeable to his _will_, but to his weakness. Even Paul could say: "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. When I would do good, evil is present with me." The cause of this conflict in the course of every Christian"s experience is what has been very appropriately called "_indwelling sin_." The serpent"s head may be bruised to death, but the tail will not die until the sun goes down. It is true, the tail is not at the dangerous end of a snake; but while the tail rattles and wriggles it gives evidence that there is still some life left; and before one turns away from it in the satisfied a.s.surance that it needs no further attention it might be well for him to look again and make _sure_, beyond all doubt, that the _head end_ has been crushed to death.
_A Funeral Sermon by Elder John Kline._
_At the Burial of Mrs. Lauck, Feb. 7._
TEXT.--Man that is born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.--Job 14:1, 2.
The bulk of Divine Truth is addressed to our faith. We are not expected to receive it as we receive knowledge that is based upon our own experience, or upon the experience of others. G.o.d expects us to take his Word for the truth of what he says, whether we fully understand it or not. He addresses our faith, as a father does his child when he seeks to inculcate some truth or principle which the child cannot fully comprehend. But the text selected for this occasion is not of this character. It is addressed to our knowledge and every day"s observation and experience. We have only to look at ourselves and at others to see and feel the truth that it tells. It is not, therefore, given to teach, so much as to remind us of what, in the busy whirl of life, we may for a time partially forget. The benefit of being reminded of our mortality comes to us in the way of leading us to seek for something better than this world can give.
The phraseology of the text is exquisitely beautiful. Notice the smoothness of its rhythm, the simplicity of its style, the harmony of its cadences: "_Man that is born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble._" This is the direct opposite of what all naturally desire.
All living human beings would rejoice in a life of many days, exempt from trouble. "_He cometh forth like a flower._"
"They bloom in beauty, side by side; They fill one home with glee."
This is pleasant to contemplate; and if the beauty could but last, forever free from all decay, few would wish for aught of life or love beyond the things of time and sense. But, alas! "_he is cut down_--"
and soon
"Their graves are severed far and wide, By mount, and stream, and sea;"
and these graves all tell a tale of buried hopes, buried love, buried peace.
"The same fond mother bent at night O"er each fair sleeping brow; She had each folded flower in sight: Where are those dreamers now!"
We can but sigh our sadness in the closing lines of this beautiful poem--
"Alas, for love! if thou wert all; And naught beyond, O earth!"
Thus do Inspiration and Poetry alike paint the sombre realities of life and death; and point to death as the doom of life.